Punk & Rebellion
Aug 31, 2015 22:53:07 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 22:53:07 GMT -8
I've recently been listening to Fandible and their geeky topics round table discussion on punk. They discuss topics such as young adult literature as a rebellion against authority, but it was their discussion of the matrix that pulled me in the most. One observation was that the people of Zion were mostly minorities (aside from Neo, Trinity, and Seifer). One reason for this they put forward was that the minorities were more likely to rebel, where the people in power preferred the invisible cage of the matrix. Seifer embodied that idea by actually trying to get himself put back into the matrix.
All this leads to a discussion of games like shadowrun. Protagonists aside, who are the people we see in the shadows? It's not comfortable middle-high class wage mages, I'll tell you that much. There are two main reasons I don't like shadowrun as an RPG (there are actually more, but they aren't applicable to this discussion). One is that it devolves into a giant 3 hour planning fest where fun marches right out the door. Two is that you are doomed to fail in your rebellion. Two is the important aspect to me. The bleak outlook of the game is a major turnoff. Fantasy is often about empowerment, and I sure as hell don't fantasize about always getting reamed by the man in the end.
Having identified that sense of hopelessness as a setting element that is a turn off to me I can now see it in several game lines I have expressed dissatisfaction with over the years. Vampire definitely comes to mind. The game sets an expectation of rebellion, but often has little hope. Coming home from my dead end job, I want to escape into a world I'm not equally doomed to not matter in. I think it's not fun because for me it isn't fantasy. All I have to do to see a person, however petty, in a position of major power over me is to look at my boss at work.
When I play a fantasy game (by fantasy here I mean D&D style), I don't want to be a peasant with little to no choice but to take it from my social higher ups. The aforementioned young adult novels often carry that same element of rebellion, but with a more positive outlook for the Heros. The hunger games leads to a revolution in which change can be affected on the world, not to soul crushing defeat and affirmation of the powers that be (at least to my knowledge, I haven't read the books).
Much like people who have witnessed visceral violence in real life don't want it described to them in game, I find that concepts like wage slavery and hopelessness are elements I don't want coming up in my game because they strike at actual things in my own life. The matrix is so tantalizing because it promises an escape from that same drudgery and offers a chance to fight against it (possibly even as the one). Star Wars is a kind of catharsis because it promises the eventual downfall of the empire. Could you imagine a Star Wars game where the rebellion was actually doomed to failure? Would it be fun anymore?
Anyways, I've meandered here and there on the subject, so I'll just throw it to the floor and see what you all think.
All this leads to a discussion of games like shadowrun. Protagonists aside, who are the people we see in the shadows? It's not comfortable middle-high class wage mages, I'll tell you that much. There are two main reasons I don't like shadowrun as an RPG (there are actually more, but they aren't applicable to this discussion). One is that it devolves into a giant 3 hour planning fest where fun marches right out the door. Two is that you are doomed to fail in your rebellion. Two is the important aspect to me. The bleak outlook of the game is a major turnoff. Fantasy is often about empowerment, and I sure as hell don't fantasize about always getting reamed by the man in the end.
Having identified that sense of hopelessness as a setting element that is a turn off to me I can now see it in several game lines I have expressed dissatisfaction with over the years. Vampire definitely comes to mind. The game sets an expectation of rebellion, but often has little hope. Coming home from my dead end job, I want to escape into a world I'm not equally doomed to not matter in. I think it's not fun because for me it isn't fantasy. All I have to do to see a person, however petty, in a position of major power over me is to look at my boss at work.
When I play a fantasy game (by fantasy here I mean D&D style), I don't want to be a peasant with little to no choice but to take it from my social higher ups. The aforementioned young adult novels often carry that same element of rebellion, but with a more positive outlook for the Heros. The hunger games leads to a revolution in which change can be affected on the world, not to soul crushing defeat and affirmation of the powers that be (at least to my knowledge, I haven't read the books).
Much like people who have witnessed visceral violence in real life don't want it described to them in game, I find that concepts like wage slavery and hopelessness are elements I don't want coming up in my game because they strike at actual things in my own life. The matrix is so tantalizing because it promises an escape from that same drudgery and offers a chance to fight against it (possibly even as the one). Star Wars is a kind of catharsis because it promises the eventual downfall of the empire. Could you imagine a Star Wars game where the rebellion was actually doomed to failure? Would it be fun anymore?
Anyways, I've meandered here and there on the subject, so I'll just throw it to the floor and see what you all think.